It has been a decade since we first stepped into the shadowed streets of Hawkins, and in that time, the kids of Stranger Things have endured more than their share of supernatural terror.
Eleven, Will, Mike, Lucas and Dustin have quite literally grown up inside trauma. In many ways, so have we. What began as a nostalgic, spooky coming-of-age story has become one of the most emotionally exacting series on television, and its final chapter promises no mercy.
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The fifth and final season of Stranger Things spans eight supersized episodes and will roll out in three parts: Part One drops today, Part Two arrives on December 25, and the final instalment lands on December 31, 2025.
With the end now in sight, one question eclipses all others: who will be lost before the curtain falls? The Duffer brothers have a history of targeting newcomers (we’re looking at you Barb, Bob and Eddie), but a series finale feels like the moment a true heavyweight could be sacrificed.
Matt Duffer has even spoken hypothetically about the impact of killing off core characters such as Mike, noting that such a loss would fundamentally alter the emotional fabric of the series. While nothing is confirmed, the mere suggestion has been enough to unsettle fans.
In the same interview with Entertainment Weekly, Duffer recalled that Steve Harrington, Joe Keery’s character, was close to dying back in season 1.
“That was close,” he says. “We just fell in love with Joe Keery, but had we not liked Joe Keery, Steve would’ve been gone.”
In an ideal world, everyone would make it out alive. But Stranger Things has never shied away from loss, and the final season is unlikely to be an exception. With that in mind, here are my leading theories on who may not survive the series’ last chapter.
Image: Netflix
Steve Harrington
Even Matt Duffer’s affection for Joe Keery may not be enough to save Steve. For all the love he inspires, his death feels almost inevitable to me. Few character arcs on Stranger Things have been as rewarding — or as foreboding — as Steve’s.
From arrogant teen to selfless protector, his journey feels tragically primed for a heroic end. My suspicion is that he dies saving Dustin, a sacrifice that would also clear the emotional runway for Nancy and Jonathan’s long-deferred happy ending.
Image: Netflix
Max Mayfield
Max’s fate remains one of the most precarious of all. Left blind and critically injured after Vecna’s attack, her survival at the end of season 4 felt intentionally unresolved. While it seems unlikely the series would spare her only to claim her in the final chapter, the emotional stakes surrounding Max, particularly for Lucas, remain perilously high.
That said, the show has already exacted a brutal toll on her with the loss of her stepbrother, Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery), in season 3. With that grief already woven into her story, it is possible the narrative spares Max’s family a second devastating blow.
Image: Netflix
Will Byers
Ah, Will. Vecna’s first victim and the emotional fault line of the series. From the moment he vanished into the Upside Down, Will has remained tethered to its darkness. A full-circle ending in which he becomes the ultimate sacrifice would be unbearable — yet, in many ways, narratively inevitable.
Season 5 appears poised to restore Will to the centre of the story, transforming a character long defined by trauma and quiet suffering into its most vital player once again.
Image: Netflix
Eleven
As the origin point of the Upside Down and the only one capable of defeating Vecna, Eleven carries the heaviest burden. Her powers have always come at a physical cost. While it is difficult to imagine the series ending without her, the final battle may demand more than she can withstand.
After everything she has already survived, I am bracing for the possibility that her story could end in the ultimate act of sacrifice.
Image: Netflix
Vecna
It feels increasingly inevitable that Vecna, the telekinetic tree-man played by Jamie Campbell Bower, will finally meet his end in season five. Villains of this magnitude rarely survive their own mythology, and it is difficult to imagine Stranger Things closing its chapter without justice being served.
Image: Netflix
Lucas Sinclair
During season 4, a fan theory predicted that Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) would ultimately sacrifice himself to save Max from Vecna — a reading partly inspired by the haunting lyrics of Max’s favourite song, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (“I’d make a deal with God / And I’d get Him to swap our places”).
While that moment has yet to arrive, anxiety around his fate flared again after Caleb McLaughlin hinted his finale was “different”.
Speaking with Refresher, Finn Wolfhard described the last episode as the most difficult to film. McLaughlin’s reply — “My finale was different, so I don’t know” — only deepened suspicion. Could Lucas be headed for a solitary, dangerous end before the story concludes?
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